Bouhammer's Military Blog

A blog about Military Issues, Afghanistan, and everything in between

HERO Weekend

Bouhammer Note- A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from my good friend and Executive Director of Soldiers’ Angels, Mr. Toby Nunn. He wanted to know who I could recommend to be a representative of Soldiers’ Angels at the NASCAR race in Watkins Glen, NY last weekend. After a long and drawn-out search that rivaled the vetting process for a Supreme Court Nominee, I came up with The Dude. I am honored and happy to have linked him up with Toby and Soldiers’ Angels for such a great weekend. 

 

As a member of the New York State Army National Guard, a middle school teacher, and a coach within my own home community I’ve always felt a sense of duty to do what’s right and enjoyed helping others. Like most fellow service members, I’m not one to look for the spotlight of appreciation from others. However, with the HERO (Helping Early Responders Organization) award and the opportunity to assist Soldier’s Angels, I feel deeply honored. As a combat veteran who saw the destruction of 9/11 and patrolled the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border, I always appreciated the Americans back home who took a few moments to send care packages to unknown service members. Soldier’s Angels is one of those groups and I feel like I’m now able to give them a thank you.

This past weekend I had a GREAT experience with Dan Leon, TJ Bell (NASCAR driver), the #50 Green Smoke team and NASCAR this past weekend. The HERO award is very humbling and appreciated as it made my family and I feel like rock stars.

Dan Leon gives great credit for the success of Captain Knowles and Soldiers’ Angels at the Watkins Glen event to the strong partnership between T.J. Bell and LTD Power Sports, Green Smoke, Soldiers’ Angels and The Hero Foundation, which works to honor and support both military personnel and first responders (Bell is the Foundation’s spokesman). The group has planned four more races with an honorary hero that will be selected through an online voting process. If that hero is military, Soldiers’ Angels will be featured on Bell’s car once again. “Just a wonderful opportunity for Soldiers’ Angels,” Leon says. Additionally, Bell has offered to carry the Soldiers’ Angels logo and bumper wrap on the vehicle he is racing at the Michigan International Speedway this weekend. He will be on National TV for the Friday practice sessions and Saturday qualifying rounds. But he will have to pull out of the race itself early on Sunday due to funding problems. “He will be sure to plug Soldiers’ Angels during any and all the chances that he gets,” Leon says. Thank you to The Hero Foundation LTD Power Sports, Green Smoke and Herr’s for helping Soldiers’ Angels spread the word and give a hero an amazing weekend!

I’ve always felt a great deal of pride serving and protecting my country. What makes me even more prideful is to observe fellow Americans who remember to “live the dream” on a daily basis as a result of the sacrifices our service members make for them.

 


Be Sociable, Share!

Enjoy Memorial Day

As I sit here on the porch of a cabin, admiring the scenic beauty of upstate New York I can’t help myself from reflecting on the importance of Memorial Day.  As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a fan of American history, everyday is Memorial Day for me.  However, I also understand that everyone isn’t a history buff at heart and the average citizen likes the Memorial Day holiday because of the 3 day weekend, Indy 500, and this weekend unofficially kicks off the summer season.  Over the years I have “evolved” to accept the average citizen’s view of this weekend but I do like to take opportunities to educate my fellow ignorant Americans.  Below is a very brief historical background about Memorial Day.

At the end of the Civil War, communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died.  Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the South.  A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866, at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.  The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967.  On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington’s Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents’ Day; Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

We now honor the service members who have been killed in all of our nation’s wars, not just the Civil War.   Whatever activities you partake in this weekend, please take a few minutes to at least say thank you to our great Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have the freedoms and pleasures to do whatever we want.  I know I will…

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!

Bloggers Roundtable-Major General Mike Ward

Today’s BloggerRoundtable was with Major General Mike Ward, deputy commander-Police,NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan(NTM-A).  He discussed many points on the daily challenges that are prevalent to the training of the Afghan National Police, to include literacy training to every recruit.

To listen to the entire discussion click below.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!

Need More of This

LTC Thomas Gukeisen is exactly the type of officer that today’s military needs more of.  He is a battalion commander in Logar Province, Afghanistan and isn’t afraid to think outside the box.

LTC Gukeisen’s success, is arguably in one of the most difficult provinces in Afghanistan.  This is a reflection of a leader who makes command decisions that are best for the mission and not necessarily his Officer Evaluation Report (OER).  I’ve witnessed too many leaders who allow their OER to influence their decision making process.  Glad to see that this one doesn’t always default to a manual or to what his higher ranking officers want. 

To read more about this outstanding warrior, click on the following link:

  www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34494015/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!

Dear Mr. President:

Now that I’ve had a few days to ingest, digest, and perform my own mission analysis on your new plan for Afghanistan, I’m a bit concerned.  My concerns are based from my experiences of being on one end of the spectrum at the tip of of the spear defending freedom in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, to the opposite end of that spectrum in Kuwait serving in the logistical nerve center for both Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).  My good friend Bouhammer has already brought up on his blog many excellent points in the pros and cons to your new plan, and now I’m going to take a few minutes to point out some more.

Until last Tuesday, our primary mission in Kuwait has been to meet your timeline for the responsible withdrawl of forces in OIF.  The elements on the ground at the nerve center have spent many hours developing different courses of action in order to accomplish this mission that you had outlined earlier this year.  However, we were also aware that after General McChrystal ’s request earlier this fall for additional troops, we would be simultaneously tasked with a parallel primary mission to support.  I must admit that the length of time (3 months) that you took to finally decided (its one thing to analyze your options but over thinking is obvious here) on a plan to surge the OEF forces and then stating that you want the majority of those forces in place within 6 months really caught us with our pants down.  Apparently you didn’t consider the effects of winter weather in Afghanistan.  There are reasons why operations almost completely shut down during the winter months, let alone trying to shove 30,000 new troops on the ground at this time.  If the logistical world could’ve had 2 of those 3 months back that you used on making your decision, then we might have been able to attain your 6 month timeline and still juggle around enough helping hands to continue with the OIF withdrawl (which itself is a huge tasking).  I won’t get started on your timeline of after 18 months we will start our withdrawl from OEF, because most of the new troops will still be less then 12 months on the ground.

Now I don’t want to come off as a complete naysayer.  The elements of the military have been given a task by their President and we will do everything within our abilities to accomplish this mission.  Mr. President, I’m going to inform you that over the course of the next 6-8 months you will be unhappy as a result of the slower then expected withdrawl from Iraq and not having all of your new troops on the ground in Afghanistan.  Then you will have the loonies on the left and the war hawks on the right equally upset with you.  I’m just giving you my concerns as I’m looking at it from the logistical nerve center and the rumblings I’m hearing from within.

Click on the link below to get a behind the scenes look at the President’s decision making process:  

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34292844/ns/politics-the_new_york_times//

 

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!

Border Crossings

After observing approximately 15-20 bad guys cross the Afghan-Pakistan border in the same spot for two nights in a row, I decided to take a squad of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers, my Embedded Tactical Trainer (ETT) NCO, and myself to set up an overnight ambush along their avenue of approach.   Now for all of you Monday morning quarterbacks who are already saying to yourself why didn’t you set up an ambush after the first night or use mortars, artillery, or even call in air assets to eliminate this threat.  Well, those are courses of action that were discussed but other priorities limited our manpower for maneuver capabilities, air coverage wasn’t available at the time, and we could only get a few mortar rounds off before the enemy would scurry back across the border into Pakistan and then our hands were tied with the rules of engagement. 

As soon as darkness arrived, my squad of 12 ANA soldiers and I moved out towards the pre-determined ambush site.  Not even 10 minutes into our movement, I received a radio call from one of the observation posts (OPs) that there were 15 bad guys crossing the border at the same location as the previous two nights.  I then received a radio call from the 10th MTN commander at FOB Tillman wanting my element to take up a defensive position and hold because he had air assets (two F-16s) moving to our area of operations.  When told of the estimated time of arrival (ETA) for the air was going to be approximately 20 minutes, I requested to continue my movement as I could have my element into an ambush position in approximately 15 minutes.  Unfortunately, I was denied this request and found myself internally battling the adrenaline rush excitement of instinctively charging forward to inflict casualties upon enemy forces versus keeping a cool demeanor, follow orders, and reminding myself of the big picture and the many moving parts that are currently involved.  In combat this moment is called having tactical patience.  Its a delicate balance of knowing when to put the hammer down and when to ease up and let the situation develop (something I’m sure General Custer could’ve used a little bit more of).  

After the 20 minutes had passed for the arrival of our close air support I received another radio call informing me that the 2 F-16s were diverted to another location that was in a more dire situation at that moment but we should have 2 Apache helicopters on station within 10 minutes.  I requested again to maneuver my small element toward the enemy to set up the ambush as they were now approximately 1200 meters from my current position.  Again, I was denied and at this point I’m starting to feel like the kid who gets picked last for dodge ball.  I also have to explain the denied request to the ANA soldiers, who are starting to act like a cranky 7 year old kid jacked up on Mountain Dew, is being forced to stand outside Disney World and is told that he can’t go play.  Now this is a prime example of the cultural differences between US soldiers and Afghan soldiers.  In this situation US soldiers might grumble a little but will drive on with little explanation on why.  The ANA soldiers react much differently as most are unable to keep their emotions in check.  I informed the ANA that I was very disappointed in their ability to maintain their military bearing and they can/need to do better because we still have bad guys out there in front of us.  I was basically using the same tactics on them as I would a middle-school classroom full of ADD/ADHD students. 

Shortly after getting the kids, I mean, the ANA settled down the Apaches did come on station.  The Apache pilots dropped down to my radio frequency to confirm my location and the bad guys location.  After having them positively identify my location (my NCO partner and I were wearing infra-red strobes that are only visible with night vision devices), the Apaches began their gun runs and quickly neutralized the majority of the bad guys.  Unfortunately, five were able to run back across the Pakistan border to play another day.  Just another chapter of the cat and mouse game played out along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

 

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!

The Pull of The Taliban

I’ve been one of the select few who have stood in the rubble at Ground Zero amid the aftermath of 9/11 and stood and fought in Taliban controlled territory in southeastern Afghanistan. Having been in these positions I’ve been able to deeply reflect on these situations. Shortly after 9/11, our country had the support from most of the world as we went into Afghanistan and did what we had to do.  Upon doing so we made a lot of promises to the Afghan people, however as you all know, our country’s military focus soon shifted to Iraq.

The Afghan people are the most patient group of people I have ever met.  By the time I got into Afghanistan in 2006, the average Afghan was beginning to wonder when they should start to see all of these promises we had made to them over the previous 5 years.  Most of these promises at the ground level were just your basic quality of living improvements and jobs.  While interrogating some of the few Taliban fighters we had caught alive and actually admitted to being Taliban, there was one who made me pause one day.  Surprised that he had admitted to being Taliban, I asked him why he would want to be a member of such a group.  He responded with “I didn’t want to initially but after a while I finally gave up on the American’s promise of jobs.  I have a family of a wife and three kids.  The Taliban offered me money and I need to support my family.  I don’t hate Americans but they don’t do anything for me so why shouldn’t I join them.”  With this statement I understood where he was coming from and why he felt he needed to join the Taliban.  I’m not saying I liked it but I understood it.

The article below discusses in further detail how the numbers of the Taliban are growing and it doesn’t surprise me at all, unfortunately. Whatever strategy for Afghanistan President Obama chooses in the upcoming days, the struggle ahead will continue to be a struggle. In my opinion, its a struggle that needs to continue but do I dare ask how long can we keep this up as a country before we are financially broken?

www.military.com/news/article/taliban-strength-nears-military-proportion.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Live Free or Die Trying!

Be Sociable, Share!